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Jefferson City Police Department entry pay
What this agency pays a new officer to start, and how that compares with the rest of the country.
Entry pay onlyEvery salary here is what an officer is paid on day one, out of the academy — base pay on a 40-hour week, with no overtime, shift differential, specialty or education pay counted. Nobody stays on it.
Jefferson City Police Department starts at $53,346 a year — about $25.65 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $15,044 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $17,918 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Jefferson City, MO run about 12% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $60,638 would somewhere at average prices — $7,292 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 62 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. Based on price levels for this metropolitan area, from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. The salary above is what the employer publishes; this line is our arithmetic on it, and nothing on this site is ranked on it.
What Jefferson City says about itself
The mission of the Jefferson City Police Department is to serve the community with honor and integrity; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against oppression and intimidation and the peaceful against violence or disorder; to enhance the quality of life with dedication, compassion and pride and to respect the constitutional rights of all to liberty, equality and justice.
What Jefferson City does
Jefferson City Police Officers protect life and property, prevent and investigate crime, apprehend criminals and enforce state laws and municipal ordinances. Officers respond to calls, investigate crashes and crimes, patrol, make arrests and perform community-policing and specialized assignments.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. employer-controlled NEOGOV Police Officer posting — open the source document
Their source is effective 23 February 2026.
Entry-level base salary only. Overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift
differentials, locality pay and lateral rates are excluded, so most officers earn more
than this.
How this level compares
Where Jefferson City sits is partly about the agency and partly about which level of policing it belongs to. The three levels do not pay the same.
| Level | Lowest | Median | Highest | Agencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal | $35,006 | $71,287 | $163,619 | 1046 |
| County | $36,492 | $65,374 | $132,263 | 416 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,195 | $107,954 | 69 |
| State | $33,994 | $64,998 | $102,692 | 143 |
| Federal | $70,477 | $73,502 | $86,530 | 5 |
| Territory | $16,640 | $28,236 | $43,354 | 9 |
Federal agencies pay the most to start
The middle federal agency starts at $73,502 — about $2,200 more than the middle municipal agency and about $8,100 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,500 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Jefferson City starts at $53,346, so $17,941 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Jefferson City Police Department officer make?
Jefferson City Police Department starts a new officer on $53,346 a year, about $25.65 an hour on a 2,080-hour year. That is base salary before overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift differentials and locality pay, so most serving officers earn more. The figure comes from employer-controlled NEOGOV Police Officer posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Missouri?
It ranks #21 of 27 agencies we have verified in Missouri — 6 pay less, 20 pay more in the state — and #1,490 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $15,044 below, and against other municipal agencies $17,918 below.
Compare with another department
Put Jefferson City Police Department side by side with any other agency on the site — the two salaries, what each is worth once local prices are counted, and which comes out ahead.
The agencies either side of it
Other agencies in MO
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Jefferson | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Creve Coeur Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $71,329 | +$17,983 | #707 |
| 2 | Liberty Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $70,000 | +$16,654 | #772 |
| 3 | Kansas City Missouri Police Department | Municipal | 1,119 | $68,928 | +$15,582 | #819 |
| 4 | O'Fallon Police Department | Municipal | 118 | $67,454 | +$14,108 | #898 |
| 5 | Brentwood Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $67,418 | +$14,072 | #900 |
| 6 | St. Charles County Police Department | County | 35 | $66,060 | +$12,714 | #962 |
| 7 | Missouri State Highway Patrol | State | 1,134 | $65,400 | +$12,054 | #998 |
| 8 | Riverside Police Department | Municipal | 25 | $65,000 | +$11,654 | #1,022 |
| 9 | Ferguson Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $64,316 | +$10,970 | #1,052 |
| 10 | Gladstone Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $63,560 | +$10,214 | #1,077 |
| 11 | Ballwin Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $63,508 | +$10,162 | #1,081 |
| 12 | St. Louis County Police Department | County | 843 | $63,003 | +$9,657 | #1,110 |
Base pay is only part of the year
Whatever the figure above, the rotation is what decides your year — which weekends you lose, when the changeovers land, what you can plan around. Save yours once and BlueShifts shows it a year ahead, with the off-duty jobs you take and what each one paid.
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